UK coins
A Red Arrows display like no other – The 2025 Red Arrows 50p!
Speed. Agility. Precision…these are all hallmarks of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team—better known as the Red Arrows. And to mark 60 years since their first display, the Red Arrows are being celebrated on a UK 50p!
A breath taking display
This is the first time the Red Arrows have featured on a UK coin, and the design perfectly represents their inspiring and captivating displays which are loved by so many. On the reverse of the coin, graphic designer Nigel Tudman has created a depiction of three sleek and distinctive BAE Systems Hawk T1 aircraft and their smoke trails.
Secure the 2025 Red Arrows 50p for just £8.99 (+p&p) >>
60 Years of ‘The Reds’
The Red Arrows, often affectionately nicknamed ‘The Reds’ by fans, represent the very best of the Royal Air Force. Since their debut display in 1965, the team has wowed audiences worldwide with their breath taking displays across 57 countries with nearly 5,000 shows, making them a global symbol of excellence.
Becoming a Red Arrows pilot is no easy feat though, as each member of the team must undergo a series of rigorous tests and fit the eligibility criteria before they’re selected. This includes having done a tour on the frontline and having at least 1,500 hours of fast jet flying under your belt, which can take 10-12 years to acquire!
Not to be forgotten though are The Blues, the Red Arrows’ hardworking and dedicated ground engineering crew. The Blues consist of mechanical technicians, avionics technicians, weapon technicians and the dye team, to name just a few! The dye team are responsible for the iconic coloured vapour trails you see during Red Arrows displays, a crucial part of the viewing experience.
We had the honour of meeting the dye team at the Royal International Air Tattoo 2024, where we got a close up look at a Hawk T1!
Previous aviation coins
Although this is the first time the Red Arrows have featured on a UK coin, it’s not the first time we’ve seen military aircraft on UK coins.
In 2017, to mark the centenary of the First World War, the First World War Aviation £2 was issued as the fourth coin in The Royal Mint’s 5-coin series commemorating the First World War from outbreak to armistice. With a design featuring a pilot and an airman taking photographs of the ground below, this coin paid tribute to The Royal Flying Corp and the role they undertook to protect the skies over Great Britain from the enemy.
The following year, in 2018, The Royal Mint issued a 5-coin £2 series to celebrate the centenary of the RAF. Featuring on the coins in the series was the RAF Badge, the Vulcan, the Sea King Helicopter, the Lightning II and of course, the RAF’s most iconic aircraft – the Spitfire.
Although none of these coins entered circulation, they proved incredibly popular with collectors, and in a poll in 2018, the Sea King £2 was voted as Change Checkers’ favourite design from the series!
Secure the 2025 Red Arrows 50p
Add the 2025 UK Red Arrows 50p to your collection for just £8.99 (+p&p) >>
The 2025 George Orwell £2 is watching you…
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
You might recognise this motto from the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), perhaps one of George Orwell’s best known works. And if you’re a fan of Orwell’s stories, you’ll be delighted to hear that a UK £2 coin has been issued to celebrate his life and works.
An ‘eye’ for detail
The 2025 UK George Orwell £2 has been issued 75 years after the passing of English novelist, poet, journalist and social critic, Eric Arthur Blair – better known by his pen name George Orwell.
The reverse design, created by Henry Gray in collaboration with the Orwell Foundation, features an illustration of an eye in reference to the all-seeing Big Brother from Orwell’s final novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the centre of the eye is a camera lens surrounded by the iconic tagline “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”, and yet another famous quote from the story, “THERE WAS TRUTH AND THERE WAS UNTRUTH”, serves as the coin’s edge inscription.
Add the 2025 UK George Orwell £2 to your collection >>
Other works
During his life, Orwell penned several novels including Animal Farm, A Clergyman’s Daughter and Keep the Aspidistra Flying, as well as three nonfiction works, and he was even named the second-greatest British writer since 1945 by The Times in 2008, second only to Philip Larkin.
Image credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
However, his 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four remains one of the most influential books in popular and political culture, with many words and phrases from the story becoming part of the English language.
Previous UK coins issued to celebrate British literature and legendary writers have proven incredibly popular with collectors. We’ve seen the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien, H.G. Wells, Mary Shelley and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle feature on UK coins in recent years, and George Orwell is a welcome addition.
Secure your 2025 UK George Orwell £2
Secure the 2025 UK George Orwell £2 for just £9.99 (+p&p) >>
The 2025 HMS Belfast £2 is setting sail for your collection!
The latest UK £2 coin commemorates one of the most iconic ships in the Royal Navy, HMS Belfast, whose legacy has endured from its days in World War II right up to today, where it stands preserved as a floating museum on the River Thames.
And excitingly, this is the FIRST 2025 dated £2 coin to be released!
HMS Belfast in stunning detail
HMS Belfast is one of the most iconic Royal Navy ships that served in some of the most pivotal events of the 20th century, including escorting Arctic convoys in 1943, the Battle of North Cape later that year and even supported the Normandy landings on D-Day in 1944. A vessel steeped in so much history, it’s only fitting that HMS Belfast now has a UK coin dedicated to her.
The design of the 2025 UK HMS Belfast £2 has been created by designer and sculptor Gary Breeze with the assistance of Imperial War Museums. It perfectly captures the ship’s historic significance, showing it as it appeared in the 1960s, accompanied by the ship’s motto in Latin – ‘PRO · TANTO · QVID · RETRIBVAMVS’ as the edge inscription.
Secure your 2025 UK HMS Belfast £2 for just £9.99 (+p&p) >>
But isn’t there already a UK HMS Belfast coin?
You may be reading this thinking to yourself, isn’t there already a HMS Belfast coin in circulation?
Well, you may be thinking of the 2015 First World War Navy £2 coin, which is often affectionately nicknamed the ‘HMS Belfast coin’ due to the battleship’s striking resemblance to the town-class light cruiser.
The Royal Mint never officially designated the ship on the 2015 coin as the HMS Belfast, but the similarity sparked widespread affection for the coin, and it’s remained a favourite among collectors for almost a decade.
The 2025 UK HMS Belfast £2, however, leaves no room for ambiguity as the ship features unmistakeably in the centre of the design.
Secure the 2025 UK HMS Belfast £2
